[ male announc ] fiber one chewy bars. cardboard no. delicious yes. a powerful explosion turns a san bruno residential neighborhood into burned out rubble after a natural gas line goes up. pg&e is still trying to figure out what happened. >> good friday morning, everyone. it is 4:30 a.m.. we've actually been on for about a half hour now because of the explosion and fire in san bruno. thanks for joining us. i'm eric thomas. >> i'm kristen sze. let's get you the latest. one person is dead, confirmed dead, 20 injured and hundreds more homeless this morning after the natural gas explosion ignited a fire storm in san bruno. >> several homes are still burning more than ten hours after that massive fireball engulfed the neighborhood. the flames destroyed 53 homes,

damaged another 120 at least. firefighters tell us they've contained about 50% of this fire but there's no word on when residents will be allowed back in to see what's left of their homes. >> we have several reports for you this morning, eric. >> our coverage begins with terry mcsweeney near where the gas main ruptured. terry's going to walk us through what happened. good morning. >> yeah. i've gotta tell you the latest right now is that the san bruno police are moving all the media an additional block away from the scene. a scene that has been declared a crime scene by san bruno police. eric, you were asking me a few minutes ago if it was something more sinister than just making sure that the police can totally control the area. i have no reason to believe it's anything more than wanting to really be in charge of this large, devastated area. just had a couple people walking down the street here, supposed to be starting work at linardi's market. they're told they're not going to be allowed in.

at the crime scene, nobody but nobody but law enforcement and firefighters are allowed in. take a look what it was like out here last night. you'll understand some of the grave concern of the san bruno police department. a fireball erupted about 6:15 last night. and according to pg&e, it was caused by a 24-inch gas line breaking. they don't know why yet. they are accepting full responsibility should it be found to be pg&e's fault. that left a 15-foot deep crater behind. lots of devastation. as you mentioned one person is dead. about two dozen injured. some in critical condition. when it blew, it knocked out the water main so firefighters did not have a source of water to fight the fires. they had to bring in 500 gallon tankers to do that. we were talking to some of the people out here last night. one man grabbed his two children and his wife and he got up and got out of the house, probably lost the house. he found himself a new set of priorities last night. >> my wife opened the garage door and people are starting to

run down the streets and we see a ball of flames. so i say everyone, get in the car. so literally threw the kids into the car seats, got in and drove away. we didn't have shoes on. just had -- these are my dad's shoes that i'm borrowing. >> but he got away with what mattered. he believes his house is gone. it did not seem to be phasing him last night, understanding that he had his two children and wife safely away from that disaster. again, we know of one fatality, a couple dozen injuries. but no one knows exactly if anybody was left behind in the devastation. so today the last word we got was sometime this afternoon when things cool down and the gas is definitely stopped flowing through any of the pipes to any of the homes, there's going to be a door to door search. i say door to door, there's some places where there is no door left. they're going to be going site to site looking for remains, looking for anything and hoping

to find nothing. they're gonna start that this afternoon when last we heard. the latest from out here is the acting governor, currently lieutenant governor, is out here on the scene taking a look at the devastation and it's declared a disaster area so state money can flow to this area and help with whatever assistance the firefighters and police need out here and also to start getting lives back together. that is going to take a while. a lot of devastation here in san bruno. live in san bruno, terry mcsweeney, abc 7 news. >> terry, you can see the smoke now from this live picture and helicopter and water being poured on to the smoldering ruins as you mentioned on the scene at the homes, trying to keep the whole thing from coming again but you can still see smoke still rising, some of the flames. homes of that burned to the ground and 120 more of that been damaged. firefighters still dumping water on it. you know, as i drove past the san bruno area this morning, you

can smell the smoke. so this is why. a live picture, you can see this is why. fires still burning out there in those hills. >> we have -- as terry mentioned in his report, there is one confirmed fatality in this explosion and fire. there are reports as many as six people may have been killed. it's going to be something that authorities work out through the morning as they manage to sort through and sift through this rubble left behind by the fire. >> well, some of the first pictures taken of the fire came from freelance photographer brian carmody. he provides video to abc 7 and several other news outlets. he described the intense heat. >> this video was shot at the corner of claremont and vermont in san bruno. got there and we actually were about to will have the area just because it was so hot. i actually have some firefighter here that i carry with me and i had to use the helmet and the

goggles just to shot these pictures because of the intensity. >> look at the cars on fire around you. >> the cars were burning, the homes were burning. everybody was burning. green grass lawns were catching on fire because of the heat. it was just amazing. >> so many people had to just get out quickly. two evacuation centers are open this morning to help victims of the fire. laura anthony is live at the san bruno rec center serving as the main evacuation center. laura, how are people coping now? >> kristen, that's right. this is the veterans memorial rec center. people seem to be coping okay. actually there are about 15 folks sleeping here on the floor above me. obviously we don't want to bother them at the moment. what's going on down here, volunteers are gathering goods to help not only those people but all of the victims and folks who have been evacuated and perhaps have lost their homes. they're getting ready for an opening here this morning to

allow folks to come here who aren't maybe staying here but need help with a variety of services. now, of course we're talking about all of the victims of this incredible fire storm really that happened last night. more than 170 homes affected. some of the folks we've talked with last night were pretty sure theirs were one of the ones that was lost. >> what happened to your house? >> it's gone. >> do you know that? >> it was right there. it happened right across the street from my house. so, i mean, we were like probably one of the first ones. >> and, again, they have more than 170 homes affected. at this particular shelter which again is the main shelter where they were expecting about 150 people. but at this point we're told there's only about 15 who actually stayed here overnight. that said, they are expecting to serve many more at about 8:30, 9:00 this morning they're going to open this up as a, quote,

one-stop shop for folks that could need a city service. that could be a building permit, could be help from a longer term shelter like the red cross. help with food, clothing, all the things you're seeing here behind me. they asked me here to put out a call. they need certain items they don't have enough of. they have plenty of water but they're saying they need particularly diapers, blankets, shoes, towels, kids clothing. specifically little kids under the age of five. they could especially use clothing for them as well as for infants. all of these things are badly needed because they are expecting later this morning that a lot of the folks affected by this fire last night will come here needing a variety of services. they could learn, for instance, about insurance here. again here at the veterans memorial rec center, 251 city parkway. they are telling people to please come here if you need any

help at all. live in san bruno, laura anthony, abc 7 news. >> thank you. we've been showing you the incredible pictures of the fire that broke out short lit after the explosion yesterday evening. and the heat that radiated out of it. mike found an important statistic here which is gas-fed fires like that one can reach temperatures of 3,000 and 3,600 degrees. that's why so many residents thought a plane crashed. that turned out to be wrong obviously. one frightened resident told us she thought the end of the world had come. >> fire coming down from behind our backyard. like all light. i thought this is judgment day. so it was really like the light. the noise. i think is say earthquake and then a little -- i think still -- you know, the sound.

i'm really scared. and then fire's coming out and i go outside. my heart was beating so fast because the fire was so close like other houses and other neighbors. like i just can't imagine what could happen. >> a ruptured main there. some witnesses reported hearing the equivalent of hundreds of blow torches at the same time. that's what it sounded like. residents have been gathered at fayhill mall for the latest information and just to check on each other. mark matthews is there live. mark, that's also where city officials have been giving periodic updates. >> yeah. we expect another one later this morning. bay hill shopping mall, an impromptu gathering area for residents. bob, one of those who lost his home. very sorry to hear that. can you tell me where you were when this happened? >> i was actually in my living room watching a football game and the house just started to

shudder. we didn't see or hear anything. we knew it wasn't a earthquake because it wasn't your wavy back and forth. we saw this huge hundred foot flame. it drew back and you could start to feel the heat coming through the window. we started to see the window crack from the heat. so i decided to go in the room, put on some shoes and we grabbed my dog, wife and son and went out in the backyard and we went around the side of the house and out of the gate and our gate was already on fire. and when i stepped out to the backyard, i could see the stucco popping off of my neighbor's house behind us so i knew it was intense. and what we did, we ran up and around the corner. and then my brother eventually got out and went around the other side so we kind of went up parallel of separate streets and went up the middle. but it was intense.

i never felt fire that intense ever. >> how far away is your house from where this explosion occurred? >> right across the street. >> that close? >> that close, yeah. >> how long did it take before -- between the explosion and when you had to run? >> i'd say about maybe four or five minutes. and then we knew we had to get out of there. right away. >> and your house burned to the ground. >> yes, it did. i was watching it on tv from the hotel room, yeah. >> what are you doing now? >> now i'm staying with a friend over in pacifica and trying to gather my thoughts, call the insurance company and find out what happened, one. they have to determine what happened. i heard pg&e said it was one of their lines. so, you know, they don't know what happened either. so we have to wait and see. >> we've been hearing reports from some of the residents in the area that they smelled gas for maybe up to a week before the explosion. did you -- >> no, i didn't. but i also never walk down that

area. >> did your wife? >> my wife usually did with the dog and she never said anything. she walked that way with the dog. thank god she wasn't walking at the time. but, like i said, i didn't smell it but then again i'm not privy to that area right there. it's a little gully that's down there. so the wind gets drawn up pretty good, it can drive it through there without coming by my house at all. >> we sure appreciate the information and we're very sorry for what happened. >> thank you. >> thanks, bob. one of the people who lost their home in this terrible fire yesterday. 53 homes confirmed destroyed, 120 damaged. we're in a staging area for the american red cross, the director for disaster services is gregory smith. we'll be talking to him later. apparently the red cross using this as a staging area. but the shelters are actually some miles from her on crystal springs road. they've got a shelter at the

veterans memorial recreation center and another at the san bruno senior center also on crystal springs road. reporting live from san bruno, mark matthews. >> mark, thank you so much. we'll be checking with you later on as well. 4:44 now. the fire did knock out power at the height of the fire. some 5,000 pg&e were without electricity. well, this morning, the latest update, pg&e says power is still out to 700 customers in the san bruno area and 300 customers are without gas. three at&t cellphone towers with back up and running on emergency power. the fire is affecting some schools in san bruno other than skyline. the san bruno park school district said its elementary schools will all be closed today. >> however, cappuccino high school will be open. blood centers of the pacific has issued an emergency appeal for blood donations. they especially need type o

negative blood which can be given to anyone in an emergency. burn victims often need plasma for surgeries. and to find out where you can donate blood, go to our website abc7news.com. you'll also find information on other ways you can help as well as photos and videos submitted by our viewers. you heard laura anthony say earlier in this newscast from the veterans memorial rec center where a lot of evacuees have been taken they have need for things like baby clothes. >> diapers. >> yeah. looking for ways to help out, that's one way. >> some better news for driving in that vicinity. there have been closures. let's check with frances and get the latest. >> the san bruno exits are now open. what remains closed though are the north 280 skyline boulevard off-ramp and skyline is also closed all the way down to 280 along that stretch. let's go outside and just show you this live shot again in the area. there are also some surrounding

street closures around sneed and skyline. avoid the area if you can. conditions may change, road closures may change but we heard news about skyline college that there is power at the college and if you're heading to skyline college, west borrow is open to skyline so you can head in that direction. if you're heading to 280, all lanes open as well as the exit to san bruno avenue and sneed. but, again, avoid the area if you can. a lot of that smoke still blowing with this live shot and the devastation in the area. mike has actually been keeping track of the winds overnight and they've been in our favor. mike? >> there's three scenarios in general for winds in this area. one is a fast offshore wind. the other is the normal marine layer induced sea breeze which is usually pretty fast because it shoots through the san bruno gap or we have this morning high pressure, calming influence, winds only 3 to 5 mph. we got really lucky that out of

the three we got that one. relative humidity is 77%. the winds will pick up during the afternoon hours in this area. they'll be out of the west at about i'd say 10 to 15 mph. but tonight i'm a little concerned because they could pick up to around 10 to 20 mph out of the west. the fire so hot -- mentioned doing a little research, natural gas mainly made of methane which burns at 3600 degrees fahrenheit. they gave us a figure on the satellite. that's how hot it is. rest of us low to mid-50s. this afternoon we'll have temperatures in the low 60s along the coast. low to mid-70s around the bay and upper 70s to low 80s in our inland valley. it will be just as nice this weekend with temperatures pretty much where you see them now. kristen, eric. >> mike, thank you very much. >> we're gonna have a lot more on our coverage of the san bruno fire but we want to share some of the photos our viewers have sent in from the fire. take a look. >> you can see the fire burning mere from the freeway.

this is after the explosion when the natural gas main, the pressurized natural gas is shooting hundreds of feet up into the air. and with the intensity that mike's talking about, temperatures in excels of 3,000 degrees, you can understand why there were repeated reports of people of feeling this heat, just incredible heat they had to get away from. >> with a lot more pictures on our website, also we have resource guides available for san bruno residents impacted by this fire. so you can find all that at abc7news.com. if you want to share video you took, pictures, upload them at abc7news.com or e-mail it ♪ [ male announcer ] nature valley sweet & salty nut bars... they're made from whole roasted nuts and dipped in creamy peanut butter... ♪

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like nothing you've ever had before ready made sweet moments in the refrigerated section welcome back. i'm frances dinglasan. i wanna take you to this live picture of the san bruno explosion. we have major streets closed in the area, of course, as well as sneed and skyline boulevard.

now, in addition to this officials are asking people to avoid the area. and we have off-ramps blocked from northbound 280, actually just one. it's the skyline boulevard off-ramp closed from northbound 280. skyline boulevard is also closed from sneed. that's where the scene of the fire is all the way down to 280. that stretch should be avoided. but try to avoid the entire area if you can. we're hearing skyline college is open so you may want to consider westborrow open after skyline college. 280 all lanes open through the peninsula and sfo. you can stay on top of the latest conditions by going to our website, abc7news.com. we'll also have the traffic information under the bay area traffic link. mike's been following the weather for us as well as the winds and what we can expect today. mike? >> we've been lucky with the winds out there. they've been relatively light and will be compared to average this afternoon, about 10 to 15

mph. the highlights mostly sunny and the warming trend continues. tonight it will be cloudy at the coast but clear around the bay. expect sunny and pretty much seasonal temperatures all the way through the seven-day forecast. let's see what's going on upstairs. the cool air slowly moving off to the east. ridge of high pressure building on behind it. as this cool air moves away and that high pressure takes over, not only bringing us the calming winds for those firefighters but pretty mild days all the way through the weekend. start with temperatures in the south bay. 79 san jose, low 80s saratoga and los gatos. sunshine on the peninsula with low to mid-70s. along the coast, look at the sunshine. a few clouds from time to time. temperatures in the low 60s. downtown south san francisco and sausalito mid to upper 60s with low 60s at your north bay beaches. maybe a few more clouds here. and upper 70s to low 80s in your

valleys. richmond 68. low to mid-70s throughout the east bay shore with oakland 72. inland temperatures 10 degrees warmer with low to mid-80s. same temperatures morgan hill, gilroy, hollister. sunshine compared to yesterday, mid-60s around monterey and carmel. around the state, temperatures also warming, mid to upper 80s through the central valley. tahoe sunny and about 69. head to l.a. and san diego, a little warmer, mid to upper 70s and near 90 with sunshine around palm springs. game with the red sox over at the coliseum. clear and pretty mild, temperature 66. we'll drop to 60 by the time the game finishes. let's talk temperatures tonight and cloud cover. most of the clouds again at the coast. that's because the sea breeze will pick up and that's going to pick up those winds near the san bruno fire. also we'll have 49 in santa rosa, low to mid-50s through the rest of the north bay valleys to

the coast and mid to upper 50s for the rest of the bay. that seven-day forecast, heading into the weekend, mid to upper 70s inland and low 60s at the coast. temperatures drop to upper 50s at the coast by wednesday, low 70s around the bay and low 80s inland. kristen. >> also continue our top story. the devastating explosion and fire in san bruno. hundreds of people have been displaced, some went to friends' homes, some evacuation centers set up. some gathered at the bay hill mall for the latest information and to check on each other. mark matthews is there. officials are giving periodic updates. >> we're a couple miles away from the explosion site. we've got live pictures of that site that we can show you now. this in the bay hill shopping mall is where the red cross has set up their disaster services

truck. it is a staging area for people in the neighborhood that has been affected by this explosion. the homeowners of the 53 homes of that burned, they have come to this area all night. i guess the last group that came through here was about 1:00 this morning. gregory smith is the director of disaster services for the red cross. gregory, tell me a little bit about what you're doing here. >> we are currently operating two shelters where we have about 27 people that are receiving -- a safe place to be. they have receiving meals and hydration and also providing crisis counseling. we have volunteers that can provide people with comprise sis counseling. the main thing we're doing though is working closely with emergency management and the first responders to determine the scope and the impact of this event so we can be sure we're getting the help to the people that really need it. and we're prepared to be here the long-term, assure the people are getting help. >> bay hill shopping mall located about 2 miles from the

scene but this is not where the shelters are located. the shelters are crystal spring road. how are you getting people from this staging area to the shelters? >> we were using buses early on when we had large crowds of individuals. many cases some people have dispersed and found others, staying with friends or family or found other accommodations and many people are getting there with their own transportation. >> gregory smith, thank you for the work you're doing. we're at the shopping mall in swan p san bruno. >> we caught up with two san bruno council members at one of those shelters and told us they thought they were prepared for every catastrophe. but now they realize they never anticipated anything like this. >> we're operating under the emergency services plan. it's been put in place for quite a few years. we update it every year. we've had information through fema. >> not even our crews could get in there, get close. all they were concerned about

was evacuating people. >> firefighters are still battling to keep smoldering homes from reigniting. >> we saw the sky 7 shots. live pictures. flames burning at some of those homes. our live team coverage of those fires continues. >> i'm terry mcsweeney live in san bruno. not far from the neighborhood devastated by that fire last night. we're gonna have the very latest information for you, including the possibility of a well, max, first day... moh-ohm. -do you have your lunch? -yes. and you know where your classroom is? uh huh. mom, i can walk from here. what about your... mom, i got it. ♪ [ female announcer ] they're never too big for a little something sweet. kellogg's rice krispies treats.

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